The present invention is related to on-line ordering of component parts, and in particular to the on-line ordering of component parts for guns from a supplier.
Gun owners have always had difficulties in replacing parts in their guns. Guns are often complex mechanical devices with a great number of small and specialized parts. Although there are some basic similarities between guns of all makes and all models, many of these small and specialized parts are unique to a particular gun, make or model, making them difficult to identify by name or function. In addition, none of these parts have part numbers on them, so identification of a part is by memory, by review of factory books which are often out of date, or by contacting someone who might know. Thus, gun owners have always had difficulties in obtaining replacement parts.
Even experienced gunsmiths also have encountered difficulties in the ordering of parts. A gunsmith may have a gun part that needs replacing, but still cannot identify the part because a part number is not placed on the part. Thus, a gunsmith would still need to answer the question of “What is this part in my hand?” To do so, a gunsmith would typically place a call to a mail order gun supplier. If the gun supplier is closed, the gunsmith might not call back or might not order. The gunsmith who needs to get the job done would likely find an answer to their question no matter what.
It is further noted that customers, particularly retail customers have difficulties going directly to a gun factory to obtain replacement parts. Gun factories typically do not want to deal directly with retail customers. Therefore, the response time, payment policies, and shipping policies for gun factories are not generally conducive to serving the retail customer, and typically discourage contacts directly with retail customers. What is needed is a convenient method for ordering of gun parts.
Therefore, it is a primary object, feature, or advantage of the present invention to provide a method for on-line ordering of parts.
Another object, feature or advantage of the present invention is to provide a convenient and intuitive method that allows customers to identify and order gun parts.
Yet another object, feature and advantage of the present invention is to provide a method for customers to order gun parts without knowing proper part names or model numbers.
A still further object, feature and advantage of the present invention is to provide a method that allows for ordering of restricted gun parts to authorized customers.
It is a further object, feature, or advantage of the present invention to provide a potential customer with the ability to order parts on-line 24 hours a day.
These and/or other objects, features, or advantages of the present invention become apparent from the specification and claims that follow.